School bus transport is a very important issue, especially in rural Ireland. It is very important for families. It is also important when we are talking about carbon emissions and everything else. There are two big problems in this area. One is that people over 70 are not allowed to drive school buses, even if they are medically fit. This has been raised here by me and many other people for the past two years. It would be a simple measure to allow people, where they have been certified by a doctor, to continue working, because it is an issue of ageism and everything else.

The other issue is that the Government gave out free bus tickets after Covid. Many of those were not used. Seats on buses are empty while people cannot get places for their children on the same buses. This needs tweaking and joined-up thinking, and those two small measures would have a huge impact and help many families who are struggling to get access to school transport.

The school transport review will be coming to the Cabinet shortly and will contain proposals to improve the situation. I know this is a major issue around the country, particularly in August, when TDs from all over the country get on to me about it. I will look again into the issue of drivers not being allowed to continue driving up to the age of 72. We allow people to be GPs and do all sorts of other things until they are 72, so I am not sure why that is not the case for drivers if they are medically fit. I do not have a good answer to that question but I will look into it again.

On the same issue, this is the third time I have raised a question in this Dáil regarding school bus drivers. I have raised it with the Taoiseach on two occasions and with the Tánaiste on one. The situation is continually getting worse, with some school runs not able to operate due to the inability to recruit drivers. In my county of Galway, more than 40 children attending St. Paul's school in Oughterard have been without a service since 17 October last year. The private bus companies contracted by Bus Éireann to operate these services are facing a huge problem finding drivers. There is a serious problem with the transport system whereby people who drive school buses have to retire at 70 years of age but, theoretically, can still drive commercial buses until they are 100 because there is no upper age limit in place. Bus drivers should be able to drive school buses at least until they are 75. Even if that means they have to do a medical examination every year, so be it. I am asking the Taoiseach to give a commitment that this change will be implemented. I do not want to hear about a review or what the Department will look at. We need action now to address this chronic problem, which is being faced by school bus operators around the country.

I will check into it again. I know this is not the first time it has been raised in the House. What has been suggested might be part of the solution to the driver shortage. If I remember correctly, the last time I looked into the matter, I discovered it is not actually a Government rule but a CIÉ rule linked to terms and conditions within that agency, which might then be linked to pensions issues and so on. When it gets into that, it gets very complicated. However, I do promise to take it up again and see if we can make it part of the solution.

We need a solution.